I feel like there are some similarities with how technologies (television, Internet, the 24/7 news cycle) have impacted politics... 90% of the politicians of yesteryear would not survive in the modern era. In some instances, that's a great thing, but looking around it seems to cater to narcissists, liars, and ego-maniacs. Most decent people would rather say "no thank you!" to a life in the public eye. It's hard to imagine that we can realistically ask young men -- who dream of becoming a priest -- to be *more open and transparent*, especially around sexual issues, while also increasing the barriers for entrance into seminary.
Edit: That's not to be completely dismissive of this report and its recommendations. But, especially being older, it's easy to picture young men who grow up in a devout environment, have been encouraged towards the priesthood by their family, home parish, priests, and schools, but have likely zero sexual experience, are chock-full of hormones and their bodies are still growing... and guidelines (which this report touches on and, in its credit, asks for clarification on) like these seem to imply that to become a priest, you must have no mental struggles, no interpersonal awkwardness, no sexual mishaps/lapses/urges - in short, you have to be perfect. When the reality is that we are ALL sinners and I don't know a single person, especially under the age of 25, who fits that description. It seems like a recipe for repression when they can clearly read that disclosing this information/vulnerability would bar them from their life goal.
I feel like there are some similarities with how technologies (television, Internet, the 24/7 news cycle) have impacted politics... 90% of the politicians of yesteryear would not survive in the modern era. In some instances, that's a great thing, but looking around it seems to cater to narcissists, liars, and ego-maniacs. Most decent people would rather say "no thank you!" to a life in the public eye. It's hard to imagine that we can realistically ask young men -- who dream of becoming a priest -- to be *more open and transparent*, especially around sexual issues, while also increasing the barriers for entrance into seminary.
Edit: That's not to be completely dismissive of this report and its recommendations. But, especially being older, it's easy to picture young men who grow up in a devout environment, have been encouraged towards the priesthood by their family, home parish, priests, and schools, but have likely zero sexual experience, are chock-full of hormones and their bodies are still growing... and guidelines (which this report touches on and, in its credit, asks for clarification on) like these seem to imply that to become a priest, you must have no mental struggles, no interpersonal awkwardness, no sexual mishaps/lapses/urges - in short, you have to be perfect. When the reality is that we are ALL sinners and I don't know a single person, especially under the age of 25, who fits that description. It seems like a recipe for repression when they can clearly read that disclosing this information/vulnerability would bar them from their life goal.